JP3589488B2 - How to make dried flowers - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for producing a dried flower which is used to dry a fresh flower while retaining its original form and primary color without whitening and drying it, and utilizing it for a specimen.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Examples of a method for producing a dried flower in which the original form and the primary color of a fresh flower are kept and dried include a method of embedding in a desiccant, a method of drying by replacing with an organic solvent and dehydrating, and a method of freeze drying.
Of these, the method of embedding in a desiccant has the advantage that the colors of each part of the fresh flowers, for example, the organically different parts such as the fresh flowers and the foliage remain relatively evenly, but the fresh flowers that are easily blackened It has disadvantages such as being unusable, and thick parts such as stems becoming thinner and thinner.
[0003]
The method of drying by replacing with dehydration with an organic solvent has the drawback that the flower color is vivid and the thick part does not become thin, but the stem and leaves are easily whitened. However, the flower part is also whitened in Western orchids.
The freeze-drying method is relatively faithful to the original shape and color, except for those whose petals tend to wither, but as the drying progresses, the temperature of the drying room must be lowered, and it does not do so Since the flower shape gradually collapses as the inside of the cell of the flower is concentrated, usually -30 ° C. is required, and it takes an extremely long time.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a dried flower which sufficiently retains its original form and primary color by preventing the fresh flower from whitening when the fresh flower is dried.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present inventors have conducted studies to solve the above problems, and as a result, when freeze-drying or replacement dehydration drying of fresh flowers, burying fresh flowers in advance in granular form and pre-drying them, the shape of fresh flowers will be The present inventors have found that a dried flower which can be completely retained without any collapse and which has sufficient primary colors without whitening of fresh flowers can be obtained, and the present invention has been completed.
[0006]
That is, in the present invention, fresh flowers are buried in granular form , and dried at a temperature of 12 ° C. to 30 ° C. for 30 minutes to 5 hours by sending dry air until the flowers and leaves are withered. This is a method for producing a dried flower, characterized by performing freeze-drying or displacement dehydration drying after drying.
In the present invention, various kinds of fresh flowers are targeted, and not only flowers, but also stems and leaves accompanying the flowers, and mushrooms and the like can be treated in the same manner.
The fresh flowers are buried in granular materials, and the dried flowers are pre-dried at a temperature of 12 ° C. to 30 ° C. for 30 minutes to 5 hours by sending dry air until the flowers and leaves are withered. As the granular material, a material having a low water content can be used without giving a color or being affected by chemicals during use, and the particle size is preferably 1 mm or less, and is preferably up to about 70 μm. Is used. Specifically, glass beads, quartz sand, plastic powder, peach shell, walnut shell, cork grains, and the like are used.
[0007]
When the fresh flowers to be dried are buried in the above-mentioned granular ones, the granular matter enters the gaps on the outer surface of the fresh flowers and retains the original shape of the fresh flowers, and the fresh flowers are withered by the preliminary drying in the next step Even if it becomes, the original shape does not collapse.
Preliminary drying according to the present invention is to dry and remove a part of the water content of the fresh flowers, particularly the water on the surface of the fresh flowers, in advance, and dry the flowers and leaves to the extent that they are withered. In addition, the occurrence of whitening on the surface of flowers and leaves is prevented. In this pre-drying, if it is performed at a high temperature, it can be performed in a short time, but since the number of fresh flowers that do not turn black even when treated at a high temperature is limited, it is generally performed at room temperature or slightly lower. That is, it is advantageous to carry out the treatment at a high temperature for a short time as long as the degree of preliminary drying is small, unless blackening or petals or young leaves become transparent according to the type of fresh flowers.
[0008]
The degree of pre-drying varies depending on the type of fresh flowers, such as (1) Katakuri, Kuroyuri, etc., whose flowers and leaves can be prevented from whitening by slight pre-drying. , Flowers need only a little pre-drying, but the leaves are easy to whiten, so it is necessary to increase the amount of pre-drying. (3) Cattleya, Denfare, rose, etc. are intermediate between the above (1) and (2) Things.
[0009]
In the case of the above (1), preliminary drying can be performed in a short time, whether in dry air or vacuum drying, generally at about 20 ° C. for 1 to 2 hours, and at a higher temperature, the drying time is shortened accordingly. However, if the treatment is performed at an excessively high temperature, it will adversely affect the fresh flowers. In the case of the above (2), under the temperature condition of 20 ° C. or more, the flower part often becomes transparent or discolored. Therefore, it is necessary to take a long time at 12 to 13 ° C. (3) is intermediate between the above (1) and (2), but after all, the preliminary drying of the present invention is carried out at a temperature of from 12 ° C. to 30 ° C. for 30 minutes or more depending on the type of fresh flowers. Perform for 5 hours.
[0010]
After pre-drying as described above, freeze-drying or displacement dehydration drying is performed, but relatively high temperature is sufficient for freeze-drying, about -10 ° C, and if only the first half of drying is frozen, The purpose of drying is achieved. Some fresh flowers can produce dried flowers only by freeze-drying, but in this case, the flower shape collapses as drying proceeds. The reason is that even flowers that were hard and frozen at first become softer as drying progresses. To prevent this, drying must be performed in a chamber at -30 to -40C, which takes an extremely long time. If the predrying is not performed, there are many solids and types showing a white spot pattern, but this can be prevented by the predrying. The displacement dehydration drying may be performed by immersing fresh flowers in an organic solvent such as ethanol, butanol, acetone, or isopropanol by a conventional method.
[0011]
【Example】
Next, an example of the present invention will be described.
(Example 1) Cattleya flower Cattleya flower with a diameter of 15 cm is put into a container with a diameter of 20 cm having vent holes at the top and bottom, and glass beads having a diameter of 0.5 to 0.6 mm are injected into the container to form a flower. Fill completely so as not to damage.
Next, dry air that has passed through the desiccant is sent from one of the vents, and the air is drawn out to the other vent to predry the internal cattleya. At this time, the temperature of the dry air is 20 ° C., and the drying time is 3 hours.
This pre-dried cattleya flower is frozen at -12 ° C. while being buried in glass beads, immediately freeze-dried, and after complete drying, the glass beads are removed to obtain a dried flower.
[0012]
(Example 2) Aoki flowers and leaves Aoki flowers and leaves were placed in a container having vent holes at the top and bottom, and glass beads having a diameter of 0.5 to 0.6 mm were injected into the containers to form flowers and leaves. Fill completely so as not to damage. At this time, the temperature of the glass beads is previously set at 12 to 13 ° C., and the temperature of the air to be dried is also set to the same temperature.
The dry air was sent from one of the air holes, ventilation was stopped after 4 hours, and preliminary drying was completed. The flowers and leaves of Aoki were frozen at -13 ° C with the glass beads buried, and then freeze-dried under vacuum. And after complete drying, remove the glass beads to obtain a dried product.
[0013]
(Example 3) Matsumo (with flowers)
A container having vent holes at the top and bottom is placed in a container one size larger and filled with water. Matsumo is floated in this water, and filled with glass beads having a diameter of 0.3 mm in that state. When filling is completed, the outer container is removed, the water in the inner container is completely drained, dry air is sent from one of the vents, and the other is vented to predry the inner Matsumo. At this time, the temperature of the dry air is 20 ° C., and the drying time is one hour.
This pre-dried pine is put into a freezer at -10 ° C together with the container, frozen, freeze-vacuum dried, completely dried, and the glass beads are removed to obtain a dried product.
[0014]
(Example 4) Sakura grass is put in a container in which the bottom of the cherry grass is meshed, and cork grains having a diameter of 0.3 to 1.0 mm are injected into the container to completely bury the flowers so as not to damage the flowers. Pre-drying is performed for 5 hours by passing 17 ° C. dry air through the container.
Next, the container is covered with a mesh-shaped dropping lid from the top, and the container is immersed in a solution of butanol. At this time, the lid is dropped as described above so that the cork particles do not float. When the replacement dehydration is completed, the liquid is immediately drained, the lid is removed, and after drying, the cork grains are removed, and the cherry is taken out to obtain a dried product.
[0015]
(Example 5) Katakuri (whole plant)
In Example 4, in place of cork granules, use polystyrene foam having a diameter of 0.3 to 1.0 mm, and perform the same procedure as in Example 4 except that the predrying temperature is 20 ° C. and the time is 50 minutes. Obtain a dried product.
[0016]
(Example 6) A flower with a branch of black lily is put in a container having a black bottom of a black lily, and sand having a diameter of 0.3 to 1.0 mm is poured into the container to completely fill the flower so as not to damage the flower. After that, dry air at 25 ° C. is passed through the container to carry out preliminary drying for 1 hour.
Next, the container is immersed in a solution consisting of isopropanol: butanol = 10: 90. When the displacement dehydration is completed, the liquid is immediately drained and dried, and then sand is removed to remove the black lily to obtain a dried product. Black lily flowers are mechanically strong, so it is convenient to use sand because the flowers will not be damaged when heavy sand is removed.
[0017]
(Example 7) The lotus flower and the leaf lotus flower are durable, but since they are huge, the granular material that fills them is often light unless the specific gravity is light. Suitable granules are plastic granules or cork granules, but in the present embodiment, plastic granules were used in order to save the trouble of applying a dropping lid.
Put the lotus flower and leaves in a container whose bottom is meshed, inject plastic grains with a diameter of 0.2 to 1.0 mm into this container, and bury the flowers and leaves completely without damaging them. Predrying is performed for 40 minutes by passing dry air at 30 ° C. through the container.
Next, the container is immersed in a solution consisting of methanol: butanol = 5: 95. After the replacement dehydration is completed, the liquid is immediately drained, dried, and then the plastic particles are removed, and the lotus flower and leaves are taken out to obtain a dried product.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when the fresh flowers are dried, the shapes of the fresh flowers are retained by filling them in granular ones, and the pre-drying does not cause whitening of the fresh flowers. And dried flowers suitable for specimens can be obtained.

Claims (1)

The fresh flowers are buried in a granular form, and the dried flowers are pre-dried at a temperature of 12 ° C. to 30 ° C. for 30 minutes to 5 hours until the flowers and leaves are withered, and then pre-dried, and then freeze-dried. Alternatively, a method for producing a dried flower, comprising performing substitution dehydration drying.